


A Stirring Of Hope

by Leni



Series: Cora's Daughter [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Background Cora, Background Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-20
Updated: 2016-11-20
Packaged: 2018-09-01 01:36:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8602066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leni/pseuds/Leni
Summary: The Dark One had come to Avonlea.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Joylee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joylee/gifts).



> Prompt: hopeful

The servants were never chatty in her presence, but the arrival of the Dark One in Avonlea, this chance that the most powerful sorcerer in the world would side with them and fight the ogres, had set a spark that not even the dangers involved in cleaning the princess's tower could douse.

Belle didn't try to engage the maids or the footman who carried in the firewood. She kept their silent arrangement and stayed in her chair, legs curled under her, and a novel her mother hadn't confiscated in her lap.

But her attention was not on the written word.

Without turning, she overheard the girls wonder out loud whether the Dark One would accept their gold. Apparently the prominent rumor had it that he had laughed at the offer, and then challenged their king and queen to find a proper price for his help within three days.

But, the girls fretted, would their walls hold against the ogres for even another day? And if the Dark One wouldn't accept their gold, what else did they have to offer?

Belle listened, but said nothing. Not because a word from her would send the help into a flurry of nervous nods and curtsies, but because she was lost in thoughts that had little to do with the war.

The Dark One had come to Avonlea.

Her mother's former dalliance, if the words of old King Xavier could be trusted. At least the teacher who had started her down the path of magic.

Either way, her mother had angered him.

How their relationship had ended was not general knowledge, but Belle knew it must have been a bitter parting. She still remembered a man's hissing voice promising to make her mother suffer if she breathed another word, and the terrified silence that had followed that statement.

Her mother feared no one... except the Dark One.

And now he was within the castle.

Belle understood enough about what amused magic users to realize his presence wasn't meant to reassure the people. Benevolence would not be in his mind, much less interest in being hailed as a hero. With such great power at their fingertips, sorcerers had no need for love.

Neither would he have come for the gold. If the Dark One had been the one to teach her mother, then he would have plenty of his own. To hear the maids' tale, he had been disdainful in the throne room, his very demeanor bordering on insult. He would not be interested in making peace with his former pupil, then.

Which left petty revenge. The satisfaction of a cat playing with a helpless mouse. He would have come to taunt them, to show them his infinite power and then leave them to their own means.

Belle should have been horrified at the callous behavior, but too many times she'd seen petitioners be treated with the same disinterest. It was the mark of the powerful, to have others on their knees to request their favor, and even then to deny their help for no reason except it didn't strike their mood.

And for the first time in Belle's life, her mother had been forced to do the asking.

Belle grinned, the stirrings of hope within her chest surprising her. She thought furiously of her choices, how few they were and how they would dwindle to nothing if she let this chance go.

The Dark One was here. The only man in the world the Queen of Hearts couldn't crush.

And he had publicly announced that he would accept a trade for his help.

Feeling her world had come to the edge of a precipice, and eager to give that last push if it meant she could escape from under her mother's thumb, Belle stood up before her courage could fail her.

"Quick," she said, making the maids jump and turn to her with wide eyes. Belle made no attempt to pacify their fear, too excited to waste time in the impossible, and instead pointed at the older girl. Susan, wasn't it? "You. Help me change into a more appropriate dress."

The girl blinked. "Appropriate?" she repeated. "Appropriate... for what, Your Highness?"

Belle almost trembled as she said the words. "An interview with the Dark One."

Susan paled.

"M-my Lady?"

"You heard me," Belle snapped, leading the way into her sleeping chamber. When she didn't hear the maid follow her, she continued with precise annoyance. "Quick, Susan. Or I could ask you to escort me instead?"

"Yes, ma'am! I mean - no, ma'am!" Susan cried out, picking her skirts and almost overtaking Belle in her hurry.

The second girl whimpered and, not having had the misfortune to be called for action, tried to make a retreat. Belle's voice stopped her. "Ruth? You stay. We don't want my mother to find that the furniture of my quarters is gathering dust, do we?"

Ruth shook her head and quickly rushed to do her job, her cleaning rag held up as if it would protect her from the queen's anger.

The girl wouldn't leave, Belle decided. Good. The last thing she needed was for gossip to reach her parents' ears before she actually put her plan into action.

It was simple, really.

If the Dark One held any resentment for her mother, then Belle had a good idea of how to give him satisfaction. Did he enjoy the thought of the doom of Avonlea bothering its queen? Then he would be _delighted_ when Belle helped him wreck the plans her mother had made for her since the cradle.

It was a slim chance, but Belle was hopeful.

She would march up to the guest wing, and she wouldn't give up until the Dark One heard her out. He owed her a half hour of his immortal life, at least, since he had helped to shape her life. How different would life be, if he hadn’t taught a miller’s daughter to spin straw into gold?

If he had granted the wish of that girl and helped her to become a queen, then he could help that queen's daughter. It was fair that he give Belle a chance too.

And if the Dark One didn't care about being fair... Well. Belle would show him the benefits of making a deal with her. Seducing him was not her favorite option, but it was far from the last. She had nothing to lose that wouldn't be worth coming a step closer to her dreams of freedom.

 _Permanent freedom_ , if she could count with his protection.

Whatever came next... Belle closed her shaking hands into fists, taking a deep breath. She would take this new path with both hands, and learn to enjoy it as she walked it.

Better to choose to become the Dark One's mistress, than to be forced to marry one of her mother's puppets.

"Ma'am?" Susan asked, timidly breaking into her mistress's thoughts. She held her best dress - a beautiful golden ball gown - in her hands. "Will this do?"

Belle instinctively shook her head.

The Dark One had already refused their gold. No need to remind him of what he didn't need. Red was her mother's signature color, so that left out any of its shades. Pink and white were just too innocent for what she had in mind, and though she had a few outfits in green that she liked, it still didn’t seem quite right. "The blue," she decided in the end.

Compliments sounded sincere enough when she wore it.

"It does match your eyes, Your Highness," Susan said, as if on cue.

Belle sighed, but still murmured her thanks as she turned around so the maid could start unlacing her simpler house dress. Holding in her breath, Belle thought of a life where the people around her didn't live in terror.

The stories said the Dark One's castle was unoccupied except for its master and the ghosts haunting its hallways.

Belle smiled, too eager to care whether it was true.

It already sounded perfect in comparison.

 

The End  
20/11/16


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